Dress Rehearsal May 22, 2010
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Photography, Princess Hannah , 8commentsLast night, Hannah experienced her first dress rehearsal (many more in the future, I’m sure) for ballet.
I was told she needed to wear makeup, and when I told Hannah this exciting bit of information, she ran up and down the street telling the entire world. (OK, figuratively.)
We had a couple of minutes of free time before she had to head out the door to rehearsal, when she asked me to take her picture. Heck, why not? She is so dang cute and she was soooo excited about her beautiful make up. How could I not?
David took her to rehearsal, so I had some free time to play around with these pictures while they were gone. (Look at her darling lips!)
See this pic here? It is actually the same picture as the first image on this post. In Photoshop, I duplicated the image (so I had two open copies of the image) and flipped one of them around and pieced them together. This picture is actually just the left side of her face.
OK, maybe I had a bit too much time on my hands because I kept playing around, doing whatever.
I love my kids.
I love Photoshop.
In that order. :)
On a Side Note . . . February 11, 2010
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Thoughts , 6commentsI’m concocting something really, really cool and fun for Friday’s post. You’re going to want to check back first thing Friday morning FOR SURE.
For some of you, it will be an awesome opportunity, and I’m pretty excited about it.
I can be crazy sometimes, and I have one crazy idea, let me tell you. I have a feeling that some of you are going to LOVE me on Friday. :)
Until then, lets love Nads, shall we?
Oh Nads, how I LOVE YOU!
I’m SO HAPPY you come in a facial wand that doesn’t have to be heated in the microwave. It has prevented my upper lip from being scared of you! The pain of each and every little unwanted pesky hair on my upper lip does not mind being yanked out from the roots. My lip has always been scared of your regular formula that has to be heated in the microwave at temperatures that make my skin want to fall off!
Someone brilliant invented you. Maybe it was Nad?
Thank you, Nad, for improving my personal hygiene.
Next . . .
Have you ever heard of five finger shoes
Yeah. Me neither.
David heard abut these shoes the other day at the practice he’s rotating at.
They sound very interesting . . .
And their customers are raving about them.
Any opinions?
I’m totally curious, so maybe I’ll be sporting a pair of these on my blog soon. :)
The Adult “Brain Squeezer” January 4, 2010
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Thoughts , 6commentsSomeone, help me understand . . .
Why is every other adult female head in Utah County sporting one of these?
A knit head wrap? WHAT THE?!
So your ears can stay warm all day? Because fancy ear bands (normally worn skiing, not as hair accessories) are so comfortable to wear all day? Because you like your hair to pouf out on the back of your head? Because your forehead gets cold?
Am I the only who thinks this “head wrap thing” is an adult version of the baby brain squeezer?
(I have never been a fan of baby brain squeezers either.)
Your hair accessory should never enter a room before you do, and it should compliment your outfit, not distract from it.
I’m sure many of us wore scrunchies and silk oversized bows in the 1990′s.
How do you feel about them now?
Don’t you wish someone told you to WALK away from the floppy bows and scrunchies?
Aside from my opinion (that head wraps are just not cute), WHY would someone choose a head wrap over a cute hat?
(Like this! THIS is a cute hat!)
Seriously, WHY?
Start out 2010 right, by NOT succumbing to this fashion trend! You’ll thank me in 10 years!
The Magic Lotion For “Special Bumps” December 30, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Health, Medical School, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah , 2commentsDo you remember when I talked about the “special bumps” that Hannah I have on our arms? The incurable Keratosis Pilaris stuff?
Well, turns out that there is something that CAN help.
Did you read that? Something CAN HELP!
It’s an over-the-counter lotion found BEHIND the counter at the pharmacy. It’s called AmLactin.
David discovered this miracle lotion while rotating at a dermatologist’s office this month.
Hannah and I started using it about two weeks ago and let me tell you . . . IT WORKS.
No more “special bumps” for us!
Skin Secrets December 11, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Health, Medical School, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah, Thoughts , 3commentsDermatologists are the most brilliant doctors.
Why you ask?
Because they have normal office hours (not too early, not too late), rarely have patient emergencies (rarely meaning NEVER), and sometimes they take take long weekends.
AWESOME, RIGHT?
To top it off, the office where David is rotating is just minutes down the street (and when I say minutes, I mean like three).
Basically, we’re seeing a lot of David which just so out of the norm for us.
A few days ago, Hannah stopped asking, “Is my daddy going to be here when I wake up?” (It was sort of a novelty to have David back.) And starting asking, “When is my daddy coming home for lunch?”
This rotation has spoiled us and I’m afraid we’ll be in for a shock when he starts another rotation.
So far, I’ve learned a few things about skin:
- There is no known cure for Keratosis Pilaris which Hannah and I both have on our arms. We have a light case, but still, it sucks that nothing cures it.
- Botox injections, while effective, still look fake and David has forbidden me to ever get them. He says he wants to SEE my expressions and not just HEAR them in my voice.
- There is an over the counter product that solves many skin problems, (especially dry skin). It’s called Aquaphor.
This little nugget of info might just save you lots of money. 
Up next? I’m hoping to get some insider information on adult breakouts! What the heck?! I’m not a teenager anymore!
Beautified December 2, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Daily Life, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah , add a commentDavid is back!
To celebrate, Hannah and I went to the salon.
Our hair needed attention.
BAD.
Hannah loved every second in the beauty salon.
More than one person compared her to Shirley Temple.
That would be 57 times this year that she has been compared to Shirley. (Who, is 81 years old now.)
Now that we’ve been beautified, we can focus on other things, like spending time with David.
Did I mention he’s doing a dermatology rotation right now?
It is fantastic.
Why you ask?
Because dermatologists have fantastic hours, and no one ever has an emergency.
Well, like a REAL emergency. (“I woke up with acne!” is not considered an emergency . . .)
Plus, it will be nice to have a skin expert around. 
Desperate Over Here November 3, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty , 2commentsWear your hair. It’s your most powerful accessory.
- Frederic Fekkai
I don’t “wear my hair.”
I’m in desperate need of a stylist.
DESPERATE.
I’m also looking to do trade with a salon . . .
Any suggestions?
(If you’re interested, please contact me at lesher dot emily @ gmail dot com . Thanks.)
Niagara Falls Sneak Peak September 15, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, New York, Trips , 1 comment so farThis is a little sneak peak of our trip to Niagara Falls this last weekend.
It was AMAZING.
SPECTACULAR.
BREATHTAKING.
I shot this at sunset from the observation tower on the American side of the falls.
I shared the deck with like 500 other excited tourist and their cameras. Thanks to my tripod, people moved out of my way.
This is the Canadian skyline as viewed from the American side of the falls.
It was so beautiful. I love the rich neon colors.
This big spotlight lights up the falls at night. Obviously, the falls are much more amazing to view at night from the Canadian side.
This is upstream from the American falls. It was a raging tempest as the water rushed over the cliff.
I cannot express in words how beautiful Niagara Falls is. Really. It is AMAZING.
I’m still sorting and editing pictures from our trip, but I’ll post them soon.
Can’t take a trip to see Niagara in person? Stay tuned and I’ll take you on a picture journey. You’re going to like it.
David, This Would be a Nice Buy August 24, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, New York, Photography, Thoughts , 2commentsI might be in love with this building.
In fact, I might have a secret desire to buy this building and turn it into the most beautiful house.
I’m just sayin’.
Self Portrait June 26, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Beauty, My Handsome Husband, Parenthood, Photography, Saba , 9commentsI had to shoot a self-portrait for an assignment. This did not make sense to me on many levels. Photographers like to be BEHIND the lens not in front of it! Needless to say, this was a stressful assignment.
These pictures were taken ALL BY MY LONESOME, with no help. Do you know how hard it is to focus the camera when it doesn’t know exactly where to focus? If you move one centimeter in front of or behind where you focused the camera, the image will be all out of whack.
Trust me, I had enough ghetto photos to prove this theory.
What I’m trying to say, is that not only did I shower, shave my legs, give myself a mask, paint my toes, pull this dress out of storage, steam it, put on make-up, and do my hair, but I set up the picture and shot it ALL BY MYSELF.
I did four different concepts for this shoot, and I’m posting images from shoot number four. Trust me, the first three concepts were GAG. In fact, I deleted all but two images from my first three attempts.
What to do, what to create, what story to tell, what image to put across . . .
I asked my husband of 12 years what he thought I should do. What represents me? Who am I? He smiled and said, “Sweetie, if you don’t know who you are, then you have a bigger problem than coming up with an idea for your self-portrait!”
This got me to think. I feel like I’m in limbo between two different worlds. One world I refer to as my “previous life” and one world I refer to as my “current life.”
In my previous life, the one where I had a career, worked hard, and got paid for it, we owned a bridal store. I designed bridal and formal gowns and traveled to Asia several times working with top designers. It was common for me to appear on Good Morning Texas promoting new lines, or modeling formal wear at Dallas Market Hall. I produced and emceed hundreds of fashion shows in several states, and it was usual for me to attend a black tie event weekly.
After several years in this profession, we sold our store, house, and cars, and moved to the Caribbean so David could attend medical school.
Not only did I leave a career I enjoyed, and a home I loved, but we moved out of the country to live on a tiny five square mile island called Saba in the Dutch West Indies. Shortly before moving, I found out I was pregnant with our first child.
My life changed 180 degrees! The Caribbean is the one place in the world that can make anyone “stop and smell the roses”. Having a child on top of that teaches you that you can’t always have a rigid schedule. In a nut shell, I chilled out a LOT.
I’m no longer the fast talking, high paced, results-are-the-only-thing-that-matter woman.
I feel more balanced. I like who I’ve become. I have thoroughly enjoyed motherhood. But there are days I wish I had a plane to catch, some project to oversee, a new design to submit. Or heck, just a really good pay check for working hard at home.
Hopefully this explains my pictures.
I chose to sit on the stairs in my home, in a cocktail dress, (which I had to dig out of storage) with my children’s pictures behind me. I do hope the expression on my face conveys the feeling of being caught in the middle. Trying to find the balance of both worlds that make me who I am.
This second picture was just an extra. I liked it, but there is a little too much negative space.
Don’t expect many more self portraits in the future. This assignment was very stressful to execute and made me age 10 years. You all know how I feel about aging!
